40 votes

The repressive, authoritarian soul of “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends”

Posted by ignorabimus
Tags: united kingdom, television.childrens, thomas the tank engine and friends, authors, wilbert awdry, characters, author.jia tolentino, source.the new yorker, paywall
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-repressive-authoritarian-soul-of-thomas-the-tank-engine-and-friends

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Authors
The New Yorker
Published
Sep 28 2017
Word count
1440 words

9 comments

  1. nofarkingname
    Link
    My SO and I joke about the central theme of that show being "don't rise above your station," pun intended. It always felt to us like the stories were dependent on each character learning never to...

    My SO and I joke about the central theme of that show being "don't rise above your station," pun intended. It always felt to us like the stories were dependent on each character learning never to leave their circumscribed roles.

    23 votes
  2. [4]
    Omnicrola
    Link
    The weird dark world of Thomas & Friends was featured in John Oliver's Dec 2023 episode on freight trains: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ2keSJzYyY If you don't want to watch all 27min of it,...

    The weird dark world of Thomas & Friends was featured in John Oliver's Dec 2023 episode on freight trains: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ2keSJzYyY

    If you don't want to watch all 27min of it, just skip to 23:00 to see their mini-episode of Thomas.

    16 votes
    1. ButteredToast
      Link Parent
      That mimicked the old show way better than one could reasonably expect for a one-time throw away skit! Props to Last Week Tonight’s team.

      That mimicked the old show way better than one could reasonably expect for a one-time throw away skit! Props to Last Week Tonight’s team.

      6 votes
  3. BusAlderaan
    Link
    Non-paywall link from The Archive HERE Link to donate and support The Archive HERE

    Non-paywall link from The Archive HERE

    Link to donate and support The Archive HERE

    15 votes
  4. zhanteimi
    Link
    "But I think he deserved his punishment... don't you?"

    "But I think he deserved his punishment... don't you?"

    11 votes
  5. Fiachra
    Link
    I'm almost surprised there aren't more kids shows with fucked up authoritarian morals like this, considering how long "the importance of proper discipline" has been a central aspect of education...

    I'm almost surprised there aren't more kids shows with fucked up authoritarian morals like this, considering how long "the importance of proper discipline" has been a central aspect of education in the past.

    8 votes
  6. irren_echo
    Link
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5Sopc2JxE Relevant video, Tomska (of ASDF movies) doing a deep dive into the fucked up world of Sodor.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5Sopc2JxE

    Relevant video, Tomska (of ASDF movies) doing a deep dive into the fucked up world of Sodor.

    4 votes